Nikola Pavičić

Postharvest Treatments of Satsuma Mandarin (Citrus Unshiu Marc.) for the Improvement of Storage Life and Quality

The described treatments enable an increase both in the quality and storage life of the satsuma mandarin. Storage of this citrus fruit does not receive sufficient attention, particularly when it comes to application of the described treatments. The result is a very short storage life of not more than a couple of weeks, and the inadequate quality of fruit. This causes price fluctuations and short consumption periods, which is not encouraging for production. There is no doubt that research needs to be initiated as soon as possible in order to determine the optimum storage conditions and necessary postharvest handling of the fruits. It would appear that heat treatment is the most promising method because of its easy application and CI control efficiency. HWD at 48–50 °C could be considered advantageous, whereas the use of higher temperatures could negatively affect the fruits because of their inadequate adaptation to heat.

Oxidative stress in leaves of two olive cultivars under freezing conditions.

Olive is one of the most important cultivated Mediterranean plants. In order to determine the differences in frost resistance of two, two-year-old olive cultivars (Olea europaea cv. Leccino and cv. Oblica) growing on different types of nutrient substrates (soil and coconut fibres), the trees were exposed to low temperature (-5 °C) in the dark. It was shown that low temperature caused an increase in H2O2 concentration, level of lipid peroxidation and carbonyl protein content in both cultivars and on both nutrient substrates, respectively. The CAT and APX activities significantly varied depending on the cultivar, the nutrient substrate type and the time of exposure to low temperature. Cv. Oblica and cv. Leccino growing on coconut fibres showed a better antioxidative response to low temperature probably due to the higher nitrogen and phosphorus concentration established in this type of nutrient substrate. That positive antioxidative response determined on coconut fibres was more pronounced in leaves of cv. Leccino.